The Trend of a Trend Network

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The Trend of a Trend Network.

What do toasters, window treatments and candles all have
in common? They all rely very heavily on color trends. As
we sit here today making candles for this fall there are
many businesses and designers trying to determine what the “Hot
Color Trends” are going to be in the year 2008 and
beyond.

While
that may seem eons away for many, it is imperative that color
trends are identified as early as possible when you have
to make appliances, window treatments and vehicles. One of
the advantages of being smaller is that we can react much
more quickly and respond to consumer trends based on the
changes annually. As candle manufacturers, it is imperative
to respond to the changes in color by matching suitable fragrances.
There are many sophisticated sources available for determining
what the color trends are going to be but in many instances
it can be as simple as a quick trip to the local retail mall
and walking through the various clothing, appliance and even
paint stores.

For the past couple of years, the general trend in colors
where safe-neutral or earth tone colors. As we move away
from those types of colors, the emerging trends now can be
matched up quite nicely with a number of fragrances, and
we are just in time to meet the demand of the consumer.

What color
is
that Red? When speaking about color and manufacturing,
the industry is driven by Pantone, a New Jersey based company that
almost all printers, manufacturers and artist use when trying to
identify a specific shade or color. Pantone is the standard language
when communicating color and shades.

Trend: Chocolate
It is commonly stated that chocolate brown is replacing black in many
of the current consumer trends. Terms such as chic, warmer and cozier
are terms associated with the new chocolate color. Because chocolate
is so universal it is fairly easy to match fragrances to this color.
The obvious ones include any of the coffee family and other kitchen
favorites.

Trend: Citrus Splash
Brilliant and bold colors such as bright yellows, reds and tangerines
are very popular in many of the consumer products. These types of colors
match very nicely with emerging trends of exotic and combined fruits
scents such as Mango-Manderin and Tangerine-Peach to
identify a few.

Trend: Harvest Colors
These colors fit in very nicely with the growing market of soy and other
natural waxes. Colors that are emerging include pumpkin, golden wheat
and deep gold. The potential for fragrances using these colors is endless. Cinnamon
Stick as well as Oatmeal,
Milk and Honey come to mind when discussing harvest colors.

Trend: New Blue
It seems no trend is complete without some “redo” of blue.
The hot blues in this go around include Pacific blue, tropical teal and
even cobalt. The new blues conjure images of remote island escapes, water
and safety. Blue is also very good as a base for any type of multi-layered
candle and scent. When trying to fragrance these colors think of Cool
Water or even the every popular Rain
scent.

As we have identified in the past, fragrances are a big
part of determining why people purchase various candles it
cannot be forgotten that candles are also used to accent
rooms and therefore color becomes the important criteria.
While we may never be as sophisticated as the appliance,
clothing and home furnishing manufacturers we can keep up
on the trends easily by watching what they are making.

I am one that always hates to use the term one-pour because
in many applications the waxes identified as such still
require topping off. The low-shrink waxes such as CBL-125 and CBL-130 are
very good waxes when used in this application. They are
by nature very soft and the colors are pastel. The type
of wax you want to use in a container candle will really
be determined by the look you wish to achieve. Borrowing
from the color trend the CBL-125 or CBL-130 would work
very well for the harvest color trend but may not work
as well for the bright citrus colors. If you need further
information on which wax will work best for you, please
feel free to write
to me.

August 2005

PROJECT:Tools of the Trade

With any type of job or project,
having the proper tools makes the process go much
more smoothly. Candle making is no exception. As
we know, candle making is much more complex than
melting wax, adding color/fragrance and pouring
the candle. One of the more helpful tools of the
trade to help the process is a heat gun. This tool
can be used in many applications:

Warming the container and/or
mold.

Leveling off the top of the
candle and eliminating topping off.

Touching up jars when separation
or unevenness occurs.

Whether you are making containers, pillars or votives there is
a need for this tool.

Since we are on the subject
of tools, others that can help improve the process
are:

Handheld
Thermometers - Help in determining the temperature
of the container or mold.
TIP: To achieve the most consistent results year-round, you should
identify what temperature of the container/mold achieves the best
results.

Wick
assembly - Is great to use in containers to
help keep the wick straight during the pour.
TIP: The wick stick is only effective when topping off is done.

Books -
No candle making production is complete without
a good library of books.

Never
made a Candle?

Be sure to look at our crafter site and
check out this really great hobby/starter
kit. This unique kit includes a pouring
pot, 1 pound of wax, wicks, thermometer,
molds, color and fragrance. This kit is a
great introduction into candle making. Note:
This is a beginner kit and fragrance is a
solid fragrance if you want stronger smelling
candles you may want to add some of the liquid
fragrances to the order.

Related News

On behalf of the Candlewic Company we truly wish to thank all of our customers who made 2005 a truly exciting and rewarding year. It seems every year goes faster than the previous and this year was no exception. We hope you found our newsletter informative and we have much more planned for 2006. We encourage questions, suggestions and anything else you would like to see included in the En-Light-ener.

What better time than the upcoming holidays to experience the excitement of candle making. For those who make candles for a living this time of year is exciting as your product is very much in demand. If you are just learning to make candles, there is not a better gift than one that is hand-poured and can be shared with friends, relatives and co-workers.

For many people the change of seasons is such a beautiful experience in different areas of the country. Leaves changing color, mountains becoming snow covered and the ability to open windows in the evening for sleeping all have their special effects. However, for candle makers the change of season can create havoc and the need to change procedures. As many have learned, the procedures used to make candles are as important as the raw materials used.